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Mesh networks create lasting connections

One problem with most wireless phone networks is the more they are used, the more likely calls will be dropped and download speeds will diminish.

That’s a drawback to centralized networks–called point to multipoint–where one tower serves numerous devices. When someone sitting at the ballpark phones a friend sitting only 40 yards away, his phone sends a signal to a cell site antenna that feeds it into the network where the call is processed and sent as a radio signal back to the ballpark.

Let a hometown slugger belt a game-winning home run, and 2,000 fans fire up their cell phones to spread the news, overwhelming the system.

There’s an alternative strategy, called mesh networking, that is decentralized, like the Internet.

The network is referred to as multipoint to multipoint because all the devices can talk to all the other devices. There is no center. Mobile phones at the ballpark could call each other without a cell site antenna.

Rather than degrading performance, putting more users on a mesh network makes it more robust.

By Jon Van

Full Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0509170157sep17,1,4084858.story?coll=chi-business-hed

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